FBI scraps long-standing definition of rape to include men as victims

Attorney General Eric Holder said that the new definition will lead to a clearer picture of sexual assault in America. (Evan Vucci/AP)

Men can now be victims of rape in the eye of the law.

In a landmark decision that advocates say has been long overdue, the FBI has changed its definition of rape to include males.

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"This long-awaited change to the definition of rape is a victory for women and men across the country whose suffering has gone unaccounted for over 80 years," said Vice President Joseph Biden in a statement Thursday.

The new definition, as it appears on the FBI website, is: "Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim."

Another important change: the removal of the word 'forcibly' from the bureau's definition, which had been in place since 1927.

Advocates for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence long decried the old standard as exclusionary and limited by its definition of "carnal knowledge of a female, forcibly and against her will."

District attorneys will now have clearer avenues to prosecute those accused with forcing anal sex and/or oral sex upon another person or rape with an object.

The issue of consent is addressed for the first time, since drug and alcohol intoxication are often present at the scene of reported crimes.

The issue of men and rape has been thrown into the spotlight recently after former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky was accused of sex abuse of boys.

Sandusky's accusers would not be considered rape victims under the FBI's old definition.

Attorney General Eric Holder said that the new definition will lead to a clearer picture of sexual assault in America and rectify what advocates believe are woefully underreported statistics.

The Criminal Justice Information Services Assistant Director David Cuthbertson said in a statement on the FBI website that the new definition "reflects the vast majority of state rape statutes," and that the FBI "is confident that the number of victims of this heinous crime will be more accurately reflected in national crime statistics."